


Mutual Pining Is A Bitch Even When You're A Third Party In The Dynamic: A Piece By Huang Renjun, Expert At Observation And Pining

by ghibliteez



Category: NCT (Band), WayV (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, As There Is A Party Being Planned, Background 96 Line Shenanigans, Content Warning - Alcohol, Content Warning - Food, Deviated From The Prompt Because It's Hard To Write 23 People, Gen, Happy Kun Day!, M/M, Nonetheless I Hope The Prompter Enjoys This, Sungchan Has A Crush On Taeil, The One Where Renjun Thinks About Kun And Taeil Mutually Pining For Each Other, We Understand, Written For Kunil Fic Exchange 2021
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28454244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghibliteez/pseuds/ghibliteez
Summary: The truth is, despite being the most perceptive when it comes to incomplete homework and bad dietary habits that often accompany late night study sessions and bad decisions made under the influence of three Redbulls and a pot of coffee, Kun has the approximate self awareness of a water chestnut when it comes to Taeil.Which, if Renjun is being kind, isn’t a lot.“One day,” Donghyuck says, viciously whipping cream by hand for the cake they’d only succeeded in properly baking because Jaemin had refused to let any of them help as he did all the work, no doubt to take all the credit for it later, “one day, he’s going to look at Taeil-hyung and realize that he’s in love with him. One day.”Or: The one where Taeil ropes everyone into helping him throw Kun a party, and Renjun spends most of his time thinking that they should really date before someone dies from the extent of their pining.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun & Moon Taeil, Moon Taeil/Qian Kun
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	Mutual Pining Is A Bitch Even When You're A Third Party In The Dynamic: A Piece By Huang Renjun, Expert At Observation And Pining

**Author's Note:**

> for: bubu ^_^
> 
> Prompt: Taeil has to plan a grand birthday surprise for Kun and he has to make sure that every single NCT and WayV members cooperate with him.

The truth is, despite being the most perceptive when it comes to incomplete homework and bad dietary habits that often accompany late night study sessions and bad decisions made under the influence of three Redbulls and a pot of coffee, Kun has the approximate self awareness of a water chestnut when it comes to Taeil.

Which, if Renjun is being kind, isn’t a lot.

“One day,” Donghyuck says, viciously whipping cream by hand for the cake they’d only succeeded in properly baking because Jaemin had refused to let any of them help as he did all the work, no doubt to take all the credit for it later, “ _one day,_ he’s going to look at Taeil-hyung and realize that he’s in love with him. One day.”

“Sure, grandma. Let’s get you to bed.” Yangyang mutters, monotonously. He was enthusiastic about the party when Taeil had _first_ mentioned it, because as much as he liked pulling Kun’s metaphorical pigtails and being mean to him, he was extremely fond of seeing Kun smile over anything and everything, but he seems deflated now that he’s putting actual work into it. Taeil had swept into the room, handed him a pack of balloons (predictably of Kun’s favorite colors, snow whites mixed with light blues, because Taeil was disgustingly in love with him and everyone seemed to know except Kun) and told him to inflate them. The only reason he’d said _yes_ was because he had a weird case of hero-worship for Taeil.

It is, when Renjun thinks about it, a running theme for a lot of people who’d ended up roped into this harebrained scheme that Taeil had decided on when he was drunk out of his mind at three in the morning a whole month ago. Sungchan, who works in the cat cafe Kun and Taeil frequent every other day when they decide they’re tired of hanging out with loud people, had a hero-worship case for them both. (“Taeil-hyung is just so cool,” Renjun had overheard him dreamily tell Xiaojun, who’d had looked torn between agreeing and blurting out _what the fuck_ as he wrestled the alcohol into the fridge.) Johnny would bend over backwards if Taeil asked nicely enough, and not even Winwin could say no to him even after they’d moved out of his place.

Sometimes, Renjun is really happy that he’s on Taeil’s good side. To ensure that he _stays_ on his good side for as long as possible, he had blackmailed Ten into being the one to give Taeil the shovel talk once Kun got his head out of the clouds and started _seeing_ things.

“ ... going to be six weeks into my enlistment when Kun-hyung finally gets a hint,” Jisung is saying. Surprisingly, Jaemin is letting him layer whipped cream in the middle of the cake. It’s too thick and looks overly sweet, but Renjun knows that Kun is going to take one look at the flour dusting their clothes, deduce that it was them who helped make it, and eat every bite just because they were the ones to bake it.

“If he doesn’t get a hint tonight, I’ll actually be upset,” Renjun offers. He was put in charge of the dishes fifteen minutes ago by Jeno. He and Jaemin are still licking the bowl, and if the look of dismay Jaehyun gives them as he carries in an entire box of take-out from the jajangmyeon place that Kun is basically hooked into and places it on the counter is anything to go by, it’s not a pleasing sight. No one respects Jaehyun’s authority around here, even if this is technically his house as much as it is Taeil’s and Kun’s.

(“Is it because I’m gay?” Jaehyun had asked once, completely serious. The answer was yes, but Kun made Renjun apologize to him anyway.)

There’s over twenty people in Taeil’s house right now, minus Kun who’s being kept out of the house by Ten and Doyoung. (No one had asked them to do it. Ten had heard the words _spend the whole day with Kun_ and decided that terrorizing Kun for a whole day was a job meant for him, insisted on making it a reunion and made Doyoung tag along. They’d gone for brunch this morning. According to Ten’s Instagram story updates, they’re currently at their old high school and carving their names onto the gate. Ten was carving their names onto the gate, Kun was in a state of distress and Doyoung was threatening to call the police. Probably.) Everyone else is milling about the house, snacking on Jaehyun’s snack stash, watching Taeil’s old movies from university when Kun had roped him into helping for a bunch of projects, helping where they’re needed, pre-gaming on the balcony of the second floor where Taeil’s room is. (Yuta and Yukhei had done literally nothing to help, but Taeil had been too frazzled with the ridiculous amount of balloons on the first floor to notice.) As far as group gatherings went, it really wasn’t the worst.

Renjun sighs, watching Chenle beat Jungwoo at Mario Kart for the tenth time in a row.

(Kun really did luck out when Taeil had chosen _him_ to pine after for the last two years. If he were to tell Donghyuck that he never got a lowkey party because his birthday always aligned with the New Year and people always thought it was convenient to celebrate that instead of the day he was born and/or use his birthday as an excuse to get shit-faced drunk every year, he doubts that Donghyuck would throw him a surprise party and force everyone they knew to go along with it.

“We’ll hang out with Kun, and we’ll do it _sober_ ,” Taeil had said, firmly, when Johnny had asked why they couldn’t just whisk Kun off to a party somewhere in the city and drink the night away while dancing with strangers if a good time was what he wanted. Kun had gotten drunk every year on his birthday and he seemed to regret it the very next morning. Renjun thinks that this might be a nice change of pace for him.)

Taeil’s scrolling through his phone when Renjun finds him (after Jeno complained to Mark and he made him do the dishes with Jaemin). He’s dressed nice and standing in a quiet corner in the hallway of the second floor, tapping on the keyboard of his phone with a fond sort of smile on his face. Renjun’s starting to see why Kun got drunk that one time and said that Taeil is strangely endearing.

“Hyung,” he says.

“Oh, Renjun,” Taeil grins. Renjun thinks he hears a thump behind him, followed by a voice that sounds distinctively like Sungchan going _ouch_ as Shotaro and Jungwoo laugh a touch too loud. Taeil, to his credit, doesn’t notice anything beyond Renjun and he doesn’t know whether to be thankful that he doesn’t realize how he’d almost broken Sungchan’s nose by smiling and making him walk into a wall. “Did you need something?”

_Yes,_ Renjun thinks, _please, please,_ _ **please**_ _date Kun-ge. He likes you so much that it’s insufferable and I know you like him too. If you didn’t, there’s no reason why you’d remember something he told you a whole month ago while you were drunk out of your mind, no reason why you’d throw him a proper party just because he said he’s never had one before. It was funny to see you guys pine for each other but now it’s just getting sad. Ge is never going to confess because he thinks you don’t like him, so it’s up to you to be brave. Please put yourselves and the rest of us out of our miseries._

“Not really,” is what he says. “Just wanted to say thanks, guess. Kun-ge doesn’t ask for anything much, and even on his birthday he doesn’t mind getting drunk and going dancing with the guys even if he doesn’t like New Year’s all that much.” Renjun shuffles. The floor to the hallway is always messy, despite what Renjun assumes is Kun’s effort. “It’ll be nice for him to spend the first few hours of his birthday with us. So thanks. You always know how to take care of him.”

It gets kind of awkward after that. Renjun thinks he’s said too much.

“Renjun,” Taeil starts, like he really wants to ask what the fuck that was about.

“Good talk!” Renjun says, and then turns around and _bolts_ downstairs.

A few hours find him standing by the living room couch in complete darkness while Kun wrestles with his keys outside. (“I’m fucking _trying,_ ” he snaps, indignantly at someone, possibly at Ten, who’s openly laughing at this point, “but _someone_ wanted to make a snowman outside our apartment building like a six year old and now my hands are frozen!”) He’s got his phone out because he really wants to see if Kun’s impressed by the _happy birthday_ sign he and Winwin spent three hours making out of paper balloons. It was a pain to make the letter P out of a balloon but he hopes Kun appreciates the effort. Jaehyun thought it was hilarious, but he’d think Winwin reciting the iTunes terms and conditions was funny, so Renjun isn’t sure if his word should be taken on anything.

And after what feels like forever, the lock clicks open and Kun startles, mid-sentence as he’s telling Doyoung off about all the stupid things he’d allowed Ten to get away with today when the entire room yells out a garbled mess of, “Happy birthday!” and “Surprise!” a split second before Shotaro the new kid turns on the lights. He had one job, which was to turn on the lights just as Kun came into the house, but some crimes can be forgiven, because it makes Kun laugh the loudest he has in a long time.

Ten pushes Kun into the crowd of eagerly awaiting birthday greetings with a slap to the back and a sloppy kiss to the cheek that has Kun giggling.

Renjun watches Taeil look at Kun like he’s the only one in the room, his eyes warm and soft like the snow outside couldn’t make the world less bright for him, and thinks, _one day._

**Author's Note:**

> this kinda got away from me but uh! it's DONE! i hope bubu liked this! special thanks to kunilarchives for running the exchange :D


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